The Pet Project Series
by Kaeru Shisho
Summary: The GW boys use pets for matchmaking purposes. In this last story, Duo and friends deliver Quatre and Trowa a well-intended Christmas gift, the kind that keeps on giving. Series conclusion. AU, shounen-ai, rated for language and suggestiveness 1x2,3x4,5x6
1. Dog Gone

**Pet Project Series**

Part 1

**Dog Gone**

I am not your dog, but if every time you saw me, you gave me a backrub, I would run to greet you, too. ~Robert Brault

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Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters. I make no monetary profit off this story.

Warnings: AU, shounen-ai, rated for language and suggestiveness

**A/N: This is for Waterlily's birthday, she who is the master of Wufei/Zechs pairings. Thanks for editing, Snowdragon!**

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"Don't come in!"

I paused at the door and listened closely. The muffled scratching and whining noise intrigued me, but did not seem alarming. I'd never heard Wufei shout in the house or order me around, and that disquieted him, but the tenor of his voice gave away no sign of impending peril. Choosing caution over immediacy, I cracked open the ancient, solid Sanc Red Oak door. "Darling?"

"Zechs, I'm sorry. It's okay now. Trowa has her now."

Wufei sounded a little breathless, arousing, certainly, but what he'd said piqued my curiosity further. _Her?_ Or was it the Trowa part that confused me more. I could not recall his wartime comrade, Trowa Barton, having visited my home before-- no, not to my knowledge, never before.

Wufei had fascinated me from the start. He and I had met at a Winner holiday party; met all over again, I should say. He was the youth who'd so captured Treize Kushrenada's attention. From all accounts, my superior killed himself, but he'd used Wufei to do it. I always wondered if it was to mask how he'd taken the coward's way out?

Chang Wufei was no coward. He hadn't demurred when Winner teamed us up for one of his silly party games. As it turned out, he and I both had heads stuffed full of trivia and won. He'd been a scholar before being forced into uniform to fight for his clan, he admitted. His clan was squashed, but not by me or my men, thankfully, and he was quite alone now, something I planned to do something about.

So far we'd dated for three months, and last night was the second time he'd spent the night, this time staying over and waiting while I attended to a Peacecraft duty. In my parting remarks this morning, I'd told him how much I wanted him move in, and pressed him to say "yes". He had been stubbornly hesitant and said "he'd think about it".

I'd been waiting all day to see him—and now this.

I opened the door with more caution than required, giving me time to think, to imagine what the scene in front of me might be. Crazed war victim seeking vengeance, possibly? The soldier in me told me to be primed for action.

What I saw wasn't what I'd imagined.

There sat the slender Trowa boy all grown up now and holding a small squirming dog or large rat. Dog. It yipped and whined. Trowa tossed his bangs aside and smiled. "Hi, this is Greta."

I looked to Wufei for an explanation. Although I'd heard the Chinese consumed dogs, Wufei had never mentioned dog luncheon meat in the L5 sector, so I didn't think 'Greta' was intended to be eaten. Why, then, was she here in our house?

"Cute. Yours, Barton?"

"Actually, I was hoping—"

My love rather rudely cut off his sentence. "She's so small she could sleep in one of your shoes." Wufei's eyes glittered as he said that.

I must have hardened my glance, because his past trigger-for-hire friend commented in a surly fashion, "Or get crushed underfoot."

"Zechs, please, sit down."

With the addition of that endearing smile, how could I not comply with my irresistible lover's wishes?

"Trowa volunteers at the animal rescue, did I tell you?"

"No. How community-oriented you've become," I told our guest, who was getting his fingers licked thoroughly. I considered sucking on Wufei's as a counterbalance, but he might consider that move crude.

"It's fun. I used to work with big cats in the circus and I missed the contact. The Winner Corporation community outreach program got me hooked up."

Barton speaks! My surprise must have shown, because his flat expression turned into a noticeable smirk. I thought I'd take my own stab. Why must it always be a battle between me and Wufei's little friends?

"I imagine that's good for the company newsletter." I knew how good publicity relations worked in business just as I knew he'd been placed in a cozy, safe, desk job by his lover, Quatre Winner.

"Zechs!" Wufei turned his distain his way. "Trowa's providing a valuable service. He's not doing it so the company can flaunt its community improvement projects."

"Oh course not, darling." I reached out to soothe my flustered lover, but he had his hands on that dog now.

"She's destined for euthanasia at week's end."

Damn Barton. Now Wufei was holding the worm.

"No! How can you allow that?!"

And enjoying it!

"Not my rules. The animals have just so long to be adopted and then they are put on the removal list. This one was such a good girl."

I couldn't bear to watch the two grown men kiss the dog. I wasn't a "pet" person. Never had one. I'd had pet projects and currently a demanding boyfriend, but no pet, per se.

And there it was—a pet in my lap.

"Look at those eyes," my love suggested.

Big wet brown eyes staring into mine. I switched over to Wufei's equally brown, shining ones. Both pairs supplicating, pulling at my heart strings with all their combined little strengths.

Trowa cleared his throat, muting a small cough, before telling me, "It's a miniature dachshund."

God, it was tiny. Lying in my cupped hands, looking up at me, beseeching—I could have compacted it to golf-ball size. Greta. She stretched out her long snout along my wrist and swiped at my skin with her tongue. I suppressed the urge to wipe away the slime when she closed her eyes.

"She likes you."

"Looks as if she's chosen to take a nap. I should go, too. Be a shame to wake her."

He meant for us to keep the animal! And for a minute scrap of time it crossed my mind that Wufei was in on this with him, but only for iota. No one could pressure my love into acting, even if it wasn't against his will. He'd never put up with being forced or maneuvered onto someone else's scheme. No, Barton was acting on his own here, although, it stank of Winner's plotting.

My eyes shot over to glare at Trowa to wonder what the opposite of a "dognapper" was-- a "dog-donator" or "dogdonor"? He wore the most terribly familiar, innocent expression.

"Winner's been training you."

His single visible pupil contracted. I'd learned human beings had no control over that reaction, meaning that he was guilty as charged. He further contracted beneath that awful fringe of hair. Too late, Barton. Caught you and your sneaky boyfriend in your trap.

I felt Wufei's hand on my elbow, distracting me and curbing my further ire and arm, lest I toss the dozing puppy at the trickster.

"We have plenty of room," he said.

Room? Was my love proposing we keep the dog? He wanted it? That did change the circumstances.

"Time," I said with assurance, "it takes time to train and care for a puppy. I haven't—"

"But I do, or might, if I lived here."

"Would you now?" I hoped I'd asked that with a proper expression of hope and not the lustful leer I suspected.

I heard a distant "—find my way out—" coming from the entry, but my attention remained glued to the slender, golden-skinned fingers sliding down my arm to rest on my thigh and to the rich dark eyes holding mine in a promising embrace.

"I thought about it all morning. I take commitments seriously."

"I know you do, that's why I asked. I do too."

My free hand wrapped around to the back of his neck to fondle the leather hair tie. I used that grip to pull his face to mine. Our lips touched and I pressed harder, using my tongue to part his lips.

"Yip!"

"Oh, we nearly crushed Greta!"

As little as I cared for the puppy, I did care for the man in my arms, and he obviously adored it. So, it was ours. Our first mutually acquired item. It was a start.

(o)

The End


	2. Cats Up

**Pet Project Series**

Part 2

**Cats Up**

In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this. ~Terry Pratchett

Dogs have owners, cats have staff. ~Author Unknown

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Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters. I make no monetary profit off this story.

Warnings: AU, shounen-ai, rated for language and suggestiveness

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"You take it," Trowa said, pushing the furball into his friend's arms. "I'm late as it is. Still have some presents to buy, too."

Heero flinched, nearly dropping the young cat. "What do you expect me to do about this? There's no place for a cat here." He hadn't begun to buy gifts for his two friends that had everything.

"No," Trowa flicked the tag dangling from the animal's collar, "but you can surely chase down its owner, Oh Great Preventer-Agent Yuy." His motorcycle's engine had been left running, so he made an immediate escape, cutting off all further debate. Heero watched him exit the agency parking lot, snapping on his helmet before signaling for a turn—right, to Winner Corporation headquarters.

"Hey!" Heero detached the claws digging through his jacket and made a note that cats hated noisy motorcycles. "Don't think I asked for this either."

_Maybe a new muffler for the eardrum puncturing hog would count as a Christmas gift if he wrapped it in a red ribbon? One present down._

"Hey, Yuy! Fur collar? Nice look for you!"

If his hard glare didn't silence further audible comment, his stiff retreating back would, Heero hoped, as he marched directly to his office. He closed the door, detaching the animal, and set the trembling cat on his desk. His jacket was bristling with short grey and long, white hairs. He had to rid himself of the animal. Shouldn't take too long; it had an ID.

"DUO? Your name's Duo? What kind of a name is that for a cat? Unless you are half of a pair… Maybe you have a twin." Heero flipped the tag over and placed a call to the number scored into the metal.

On the fourth ring an answering machine picked up. "Hello! I'm not able to—"

The same voice only slightly breathless cut in. "Hi! You still there?"

"Yes. This is Agent Yuy of the Preventers. Am I speaking to the owner of 'DUO'?"

There was a long quiet on the other end, where Heero could only hear the sound of heavy breathing coming under control.

"Owner?"

_I am talking to an idiot_, Heero thought, losing patience. "I have a lost cat with an ID giving the name 'DUO' and this number. Are you the cat's owner?"

"Oh, yeah. That's Racky. How'dya get her? I've been looking all over."

"The tag says 'DUO', not—" _whatever the man just said that sounded like a cough_. "It says just 'Duo'." While keeping the other man on the line, Heero clicked into the agency's locating software to zero in on an address. With luck, he could deliver the cat and be back at his desk before Commander Une sought him out for a new assignment.

"Heh, heh, yeah. Duo's my name. The cat's Racky. She's a Maine Coon—with papers."

"She's a stray cat, no papers." _There, got it!_ Heero recognized the very nice neighborhood; his friend Trowa lived there with his main squeeze, Quatre Winner, of the Winner Corporation fame. _ Duo? What kind of a name is that for a man?_

"She doesn't carry her ancestral lineage papers around with her, geez."

_Those kinds of papers._ "You live in Highland Park?"

"Uh, why?"

_Total idiot. _"I can deliver you your cat immediately. At your home."

"Really?"

_Yes! _"If you'd rather, we could meet downtown some—"

"No, no, that's okay. Preventer agent?"

"Yes. Agent Yuy. I'll be there in… 15 minutes. Do you have a coded gate?"

MEOW!

"Is that her? Hi, Racky!"

_He talks to cats._ Heero had run out of patience. "Security gate?"

"Oh, yeah, there is. You sure know your stuff. Listen, I'll meet you at the gate, 'kay?"

"Yes. Goodbye, ah, Duo."

"That's right. Duo _Maxwell_. Thanks. Later, dude."

_Dude? _Heero made a face at the slight to his title and cut the call. He pushed the cat out of his face and typed a vague "On delivery operation. Mission ready in one hour" message on his duty entry. That would give him time to complete his last report, too.

Ready, except, now that he needed the animal, she'd gone into hiding. "Where did you go?"

_Swish. Skitter, skitter._

A paw shot out from under the desk and smacked a wad of paper, sending it skittering across the bare wood floor. Heero grabbed his empty wastebasket, calculated the beast's trajectory then, "There!" trapped her.

He left his office, cat-in-basket tucked close to his chest by one arm. _Not one holiday decoration in sight._ Commander Une's orders wiped all holidays off the calendar, including the decorations. Just as well. Heero hadn't much to celebrate, already volunteering to work so others could have Christmas day off with their families.

_First things first._ Heero carried his stray to the canine unit desk and collected an all-metal, small-animal carrier. "Claw that all you want." He flashed the animal a canine-rich smile and pushed her in.

"Would you like a brush down?" the desk clerk asked him.

"What?" Heero'd been hit upon before, but that was a new line. A confusing one, too. Besides, with that timid smile the woman didn't look bold enough to have meant anything improper.

"I'm Cindy. The dogs shed so I keep a lint brush in the drawer."

_Excellent._ Cindy's no-nonsense attitude pleased Heero. He reached for the tool. "Yes, so do cats, apparently. I can take care of myself. Thanks."

Cat caged. Suit up to standards. Heero felt properly prepared to successfully accomplish the mission ahead.

"Is there anything else, agent?"

"Yes, you can return this wastebasket to my office." Heero jotted the number on the clerk's notepad, smiled, and left. "Please."

"Just for you." This time the tone of voice and teasing wink left nothing to his imagination.

"Hn." He'd loaded his grunt with enough displeasure as he had time for—he had energy and inclination to say much more, but why bother telling her to piss off and mind her own business?

He didn't go out for fun. With anyone. He hadn't the patience or the desire to be appealing date material. This hadn't made him a happy man, but he wasn't bothered by his single condition either, he told himself. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted, and without consideration to someone else's needs.

Unlike Trowa, his friend who once was a free and easy-going guy and was now at his boyfriend's beck and call. He'd even bought a living tree to decorate costing ten times the price of a cut one so that he didn't "kill a poor innocent pine".

Heero smiled, wondering what sensitive Quatre would think if he knew how many trees his boyfriend had chopped down while camping the summer before? That had been fun. He and Trowa had had lots of good times together, but then Trowa met Quatre and now he was tied down tight as a sail in a storm and Heero hadn't had a vacation since.

_Commitment is not for me._

The drive took ten minutes. Had he slowed to enjoy the scenic turnouts or the colorful, and sometimes ostentatious holiday light displays, as he climbed the to the mountain top estates, he would have taken longer; he had a time-table to abide by. To get to his friend's house he had only to turn left. He drove straight, the street climbing a little higher. A little more exclusive and expensive. And stopped when the road dead-ended at the gate.

No Duo. There was a wreath, obviously handmade by someone in a rush and with more heart than talent, hanging off center with a tattered bow, but no cat owner eager to take delivery of his feline companion.

"Where the hell are you?" he grumbled under his breath.

Heero turned off the engine and got out of his car. He took the cat carrier out and placed it on the hood. And waited. On closer observation, the wreath was more of an animal feeder with decorations consisting of half-eaten fruit, "Indian" corn, and pressed seed snacks showing signs of having been gnawed, pecked, and attacked repeatedly.

_Lovely decoration. _Actually more to his taste than most.

Heero Yuy was first-class at shooting, running down bad guys, and not losing his concentration. He was not especially accomplished at waiting, so he tested the gate.

Yes, it was locked securely and expensively enough that he restrained his temptation to break it. He could break the steel reinforced lock, if he'd wanted to.

He checked his watch. Five more minutes. If he left in five minutes he'd have no trouble making it back to his office before the commander called for him.

_Where had the damned Duo character gone to--- whoa?!_

His attention diverted to movement at the side of the house. There on a second floor balcony stood a figure flipping yards of heavy, damp hair over the railing and, apparently, brushing it out.

More interesting, it was a man doing this. A naked one. Lean but not thin, cut like a swimmer with great shoulders and long legs, but not tall. An extraordinarily attractive man about his own age, he guessed, but with so much hair. So long.

Mist rose of the volumes of damp hair in the chilly winter air. _Hot, fresh, and clean from his morning shower. _

Heero stopped his hand from twitching and ran it through his untidy mop. How disappointing! He was itching to bury his hands in those beautiful, steaming locks.

For a moment, and only a moment, Heero considered collecting his binoculars from the glove compartment of his car, but a cloud moved and the sun rays pierced the tree canopy. _Oh, God..._waves and waves of chestnut-colored hair so incredibly long and the sun angle hit it just so the beautiful man appeared outlined in gilt.

_Haloed. Like an angel._

_No. No angel put on a provocative display like that._

_Totally masculine, but gorgeous._

If only he had a camera—but he did! Heero dashed back to the car, opened the door, and twisted the interior, attached camcorder around. The camera's image wouldn't do the beautiful figure justice. He cranked up the sun-kissed image and brought the man into focus.

_Show your face! _But the head was turned and the hair nearly everywhere.

_Good God, his cock looked fantastic, though!_

He rubbed a hand over his own growing bulge under his slacks, rearranging the goods and enjoying the show. He licked his lips then gasped in surprise when his watch chimed "Time to go."

He cursed "Duo" under his breath and rang his number. The siren on the balcony went into the house, ending that reason for living for the time being, and sending the notion that he just might meet a creature like that sometime back into the recesses of his mind where his fantasies played out to an audience of one unfilled man.

"Yo. Duo here."

The low voice agitated his brain back to attention.

"This is Agent Yuy with your cat. You told me you'd be at the gate."

"My spy-guy? Already? Man, time flies. Okay, I'm on my way right now." The voice changed as Heero imagined the man running through a labyrinth to the front door. "Clothes—"

Heero wondered if this "Duo" was the father of the seraph on the balcony, or the lover. They could just be friends. Yeah, sure. Heero didn't think he could be "just friends" with a guy that looked like that, a shocking fact. He hadn't felt that way about another person before, man or woman. Not. At. All.

"—around the corner past the table I always hit with my hip. Gotta bruise there from last time. Why I don't move it I don't know. I do move my hips; I meant the table, heh, heh. I'm heading out the door," came the voice on the other end of the phone still chattering away with a play-by-play of his trip through the house. "--in fact, I see you."

Heero observed a man in baggy sweats and hoodie pulled up over his head hop down the porch stairs, and then jog his way, kicking up a flurry of dry leaves. Duo Maxwell. This scruffy character didn't deserve the long-haired man-sylph he'd seen.

Heero lifted the animal carrier from the car, preparing to hand it over at once. He'd have to take the curves a bit too fast and run, but he could still, would still enter the building and pass security, which would show up on his commander's duty roster updates, and be nearly as good as actually being at his desk.

What was important was giving Une no reasons to question his activities. "Lost pets" should not be under his job description jurisdiction. Thwarting drug dealers, impeding smugglers, offing assassins—stopping the bad guys—was.

Heero wanted to avoid the uncomfortable probes, like, "Why the cat?" And for an instant his unruly mind imagined an intrusive, but welcome probe of another sort all together.

_Open the gate. _

"Meow!"

"Racky!" The pet owner snatched the cage out of Heero's hands and unlatched the door. The grey and white ball of fluff stretched a paw past the opening to test the new surface, air. "I've gotcha now. Wow, I can't believe Preventer's does this kind of thing. What service!"

"We don't normally." And that was when he should have just turned and left. He would have had the warm feeling of having helped his fellow man and the "vision on the balcony" seared into his mind to fuel his dreams for evermore.

"Well, cool. I haven't been here long and she escaped the house." The guy kissed the fur and laughed. "It was like losing my best friend for a day."

_What about the unforgettable creature I saw brushing his hair and wrapped in golden sunshine?_

"She was in good hands." Why Heero felt it necessary to tell him all this, he didn't know. "A neighbor of yours found her on his doorstep yesterday. He's good with animals and would have kept her, except for the tag."

"Yeah, I put that on her the minute she became mine. Maine Coon cat, like I said. So, can you tell me who found her? I'd like to thank him, too. Wouldn't do me no harm to meet someone around here. Place is pretty remote."

The place was the top of the hill. The entire hilltop. _His nearest neighbors were--?_ Heero squinted through the trees to get his bearings. _Trowa and Quatre's back yard?_ Heero turned back, his eyes landing on the handsome face staring back. Blue eyes peeking through a fringe of brown hair, and a smile. "Actually, he's a friend of mine, both he and his, ah, partner… companion."

And then he suddenly didn't want to introduce his friends. No, that wasn't quite the truth. He didn't want to share this man with his friends, but he wasn't sure why he'd felt that way.

"I got gay neighbors? Cool. I thought I only had rich old fogies." He fondled his cat who seemed content to snuggle in his arms.

Heero thought she was glaring accusingly at him and was thankful cats couldn't talk. It wouldn't do for "Racky" to complain about his cold treatment. That might ruin this meeting.

"And thank you for the tip-top service, heh, heh. Hey, wanna come in for coffee? I gotta pot and some doughnuts, come to think of it."

"That would be--." His watch beeped. _OUT OF TIME! He'd barely make it if Une was late today. She could be._

"Oh, no, no… I didn't mean it that way!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Doughnuts… cops..? I really would like to--."

"I'm not a 'cop'," Heero snapped with more anger than he'd meant to send the other man's way. "Enjoy your day."

"Oh? Oh, the beeping was your urgent call, huh? Secret agent stuff and all. Well, bye."

The car engine roared to life, spoiling the tranquility. He rammed it into gear, spun the wheel and sent loose rocks flying from the spinning tires. Five minutes.

Using a false ID he'd created to slip past the security system he'd helped design, Heero ghosted into Preventer's headquarters to hide behind his office door. He hated doing that. It would only work if his commander wasn't on the hunt for him and no one analyzed the security tapes.

If he would somehow get caught, the explanation phase would be so much worse for him, going something like this in his mind: "I was hiding the fact that I took a lost cat to its owner as a favor to a friend. Yes, I do have a heart, but prefer to conceal that under the heading "professionalism." Yes, I used Preventers' facilities and I did it on company time, and I'm aware of the regulations forbidding-- No, my report isn't done--"

_Mortifying. _

But it wasn't. As it turned out, Commander Une had taken the morning off for a dentist appointment. He had time to kill.

He completed his last report and mailed it to Une, running it through his nifty black-market time-stamper to back-tag it so it appeared he submitted it at eight AM. Not really necessary, but it would appear more normal a time for him to have been done with it. More cover-up but Heero liked things completed as fully as possible.

Of course, thinking back to that hour brought him around to recalling the dreamlike, mystery man with the yards of hair and the pale skin glowing in the early rays. What would it feel like to run his fingers over that body, caress that smooth skin, and smother his face in those silky strands?

His office vidphone blinked in the most annoying fashion. "Vid on. What?" he barked at the device.

The chief of security's face appeared and for a gnat's breath of time he felt the horror of discovery. "Agent Yuy, the desk is holding an incoming call. The man is asking for you by name but has no established ID or knowledge of Preventer protocol—"

Heero broke in, "Did he identify himself?"

"Yes, sir. Duo Maxwell's what he says."

_Him? Again? What now? What could he want now? _Heero decided to rid himself of the parasite himself. An attractive parasite, but anyone who could remotely get under his skin would be a danger to his carefully controlled universe.

"Patch him in. I'll take care of this. Thank you."

"As you say—"

Duo's face appeared, looking peeved. "I just wanna talk to the dude, not date his brother, er, sister or whatever. Geez."

The hoodie was still there, but it had been unzipped to partway, revealing a dark red t-shirt underneath. It really highlighted those inflamed cheeks.

"Mr. Maxwell. This is Agent Yuy. Why are you calling?" _Best get to the point immediately._

"Heero! Good to see you, man. You wouldn't believe how hard a time I got trying to reach you. You really are a secret agent, huh?"

"Some of the time. Why have you called?" _To the point._

"Why? Oh, to see those pretty blue eyes again, heh, heh…yeah. Um, I need a favor."

_Parasite_, just as he'd supposed. "No."

"Ah, c'mon, dude. You haven't even heard me out."

"I have to go. Don't call me again." _Point made._

"It's Racky!"

"What is?"

"Why I called, geez, just give me a minute. 'Kay?"

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight—"

"You are one hard-assed cop."

"I'm NOT a cop."

"So you say. Maybe I'll try the fire department where the guys are brawnier anyway."

"Thirty seconds."

"All right! She's upatreeandsoamI. I'mstuck!"

He waved around his cellphone aiming the camera at the cat on a branch, and in a sickening swirl of green blur, the ground below, and in a nauseating magic carpet ride back up to what could have been a leg straddling a tree limb, then back to his stricken face.

"Get it? I can't get down!"

"You got up. Just climb down the way you got up."

"You're not very observant for a super, secret agent. I showed you the ground. Look again."

"I never said—" _Ugh the blur…_

"See that? That is the branch that broke when I put my weight on it. Now do you get it? I AM STUCK. It's about twenty degrees cooler than is comfortable and about forty feet higher than is safe. I'm really all about terra firma beneath my feet, if you get my drift? And, ah, shit, shit, shit--!"

"What now?!"

"Battery's about—"

The screen was blank and dark. The image gone. Heero could go back to work.

Instead, he was buttoning his uniform jacket, grabbing a spare leather coat from the rack, since Duo's lips looked a tad blue for the cold, and heading out of his office. He didn't even bother leaving a note knowing he'd be back within the hour. _Tops._

He checked out a van used for local infiltration jobs. Unmarked and loaded with ladders, pipes, and plumbing fittings, it would be perfect for this job. _Ladder to tree, assist man and cat to ground, and then leave. Mission accomplished._

Taking one of the curves on two wheels, Heero thought he could have simply left the man hanging, and smiled at his own joke._ Maybe get another glimpse of the unworldly man with the lustrous hair._

"The idiot didn't even turn his security back on after I left," he grumbled. "Good thing. Saves breaking in."

"Hey! Up here! What took you so long? You brought a ladder? Good thinking. Oooh, it's my knight in shining leather."

"Shut up, will you, and put that on. The leather's for you. I'll take—" The cat clawed at Heero's outstretched hand and his yanked it back. "Okay, you hold on to that animal and I'll help you down."

"I can climb a ladder. I'm not that worthless. I just couldn't scale a tree trunk. What's the matter now?"

The matter was a thick rope of hair which had snaked out and hit Heero in the face. _How much hair did it take to make a braid this thick and long?_

Images of the beautiful man on the balcony played out in his mind. _Could it be him? Of course it was! Speaking of idiots...  
_

"Sorry 'bout the braid. Really, sorry. It always is getting in the way at the worst times. There. All tucked away. I wear a baseball cap in summer that does the trick, but this hood's worthless, ya know?"

"You could use a knit cap. There's one in the leather coat pocket. I used it the other night."

"You did? Here it is. Yeah, this is warm, but the hair still whips around."

_Whips-- imagine it whipping his skin…_

"But it would be okay if I wasn't hanging upside down, wouldn't it?"

"Put your foot here." Heero placed the tottering man's left shoe solidly on a rung. Noticing that he had both hands gripping the ladder and not the cat, he asked, "Where's the cat?"

"In the jacket." He twisted around and took two steps down nearly shoving his backside into Heero's face. "See?"

Heero didn't have to imagine. He could remember exactly what the man's ass looked like naked, because he was certain his vision of perfection and this…man… were one and the same.

"The cat. You are admiring the cat!"

Heero's eyes rose in a flash of blue to see that, indeed, a furry little face was peering between the red shirt and the black leather coat, and that a pair of needle-sharp little claws had punctured the shiny material. _Losing a hairball's worth of fur to the interior of his jacket._

"Get her down before she ruins my coat." _Among other things._

"I'm not the one holding up this rescue."

Heero was.

He just about slid down the rest of the way he moved so fast.

"There we go," Duo said, talking to his cat. "All safe and all again. Ugh, don't claw that! Uh, that nipple will never be the same again. C'mon, I'll show you 'round."

Heero, without putting away the Preventer's ladder, locking the van, or thinking beyond the words 'nipple' and 'come', trailed after the man, watching the braid swing to and fro and bob up and down on the man's ass.

_Did he live here alone? Why? _ The mysteries surrounding Duo Maxwell intrigued him. _A case worth opening and exploring. _He had at least another hour to spare, studying him.

"So, I'll bet you're wondering how I got a place like this to live in, huh?"

"It crossed my mind." _As did more immediately important things._

"Since you're a super spy guy…" Duo paused and flashed a teasing grin Heero's way. "You'll probably figure it all out anyway so I'll just save you the trouble."

"Thanks." Heero couldn't remember smiling so much at anyone else before, but it spread across his face all on its own.

"When the Maxwell orphanage burned down, I was the only survivor—"

"You're THAT Maxwell?"

"Sure am." That was accompanied by a smug smile. "I had to prove it with blood and guts, I gotta tell you. Letting them draw blood for all those DNA tests took some guts, heh, heh. Anyway, it took me years to find out that they'd done a head count of the remains and discovered I'd gone missing. I, ah, I'm not boring you, am I? I tend to rattle on when I'm, ah… at times."

"I make you nervous?" Heero found the blush resulting from that tactless revelation to be charming, especially since he'd been the cause. "I'm trustworthy, and, no, I'm not bored. Who called for the DNA tests?"

"I'm getting there. Um… The case was put on the back burner until it got stirred up again when the Winner Corporation wanted to buy and develop this estate. Apparently, it was part of the Maxwell holdings, the folks funding the orphanage, ya know?"

Heero nodded to encourage the other man to tell more.

"Right, so, as it turned out, they were rather well off and apparently they'd died leaving the estate and all the insurance money from the orphanage to the last survivor, which was me, but I didn't know it."

"How did you find out?"

"My best friend, ah, works for Winner corp. Real high up there in it and all and he and I had been buddies back in our clubbing hey-day—ah, it's in the past."

Duo had his head turned away so Heero couldn't see his expression, but obviously he was hiding something. Heero didn't mind a well-textured past, though, and added to the other man's character sketch. "Clubs are loud and not my thing," he thought to share.

Duo smiled. "I'll remember that."

"So this clubbing friend helped you, how?"

"Oh, well, when he read about the estate in some company paper, he put me and it together and arranged the DNA testing. After that, it was all pretty much an easy road to here, 'cept for the pile-up of lawyers wanting to get their greedy hands on as much of the money as they could."

"But you won."

"You bet. I wanna give you the tour, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Super. I can tell you about how I'm gonna turn this place into a real fine home for orphans next. Interested?"

"Very much."

Once the front door closed, two well-dressed young men crawled out from under the shrubbery.

"Finally!" said the taller one.

"I thought he'd never go in," said the blond one.

"I thought he'd figure things out when he found the gate open."

"Your best friend is thick-skulled and in denial."

"Well, sweetheart, if your old buddy from your wild-and-crazy days put on his performance out front, like I'd suggested, and not way out on that blessed balcony where no one could make out who he was, Heero'd have never left the first time."

"Maybe so, but Duo's not that much of an exhibitionist. I just hope Duo can explain knowing me and all without giving away how much of a setup this all was."

"Heero'll figure it out, probably, but I doubt he'll care after they hit it off."

"Let's hope. Oh, Trowa, I'm all dirty. See the knees? My nice worsted slacks are ruined."

"No, they aren't, pet. We'll send them out for cleaning and they'll be as good as new, or you can wear them out for gardening."

"I don't garden!"

"You could take it up. Anyway, I'm glad we don't have to figure out some other bone-head scheme to get them together."

"Are you calling my ideas 'bone-headed'? Shows what you know! You, who said it couldn't be done when I fixed up Wufei with Zechs Merquise! And now they share that lovely dachshund you wanted to find a happy home for."

"I apologize. You are right. You're brilliant. Now, let's go in and change you out of those clothes."

"If I didn't know you better, I'd think you just want to get me naked."

"You know me inside and out."

"Not so much of the _inside_." Quatre looked him over speculatively. "We could play 'presents under the Christmas tree'."

"At your pleasure, my little hidden treasure. Look there's a tree over there!"

"I didn't mean outside! You are not undressing me here! It's cold and unhygienic."

"In the house it is, then. Only a meadow to cross."

"Wet grass and all. We'd best hurry before one of _them_ comes storming out of the house over some stupid insult to their dignity."

"I'm like the wind at your back."

"Trowa?"

"Blowing…"

"Trowa!"

(o)

The End

**_Happy holidays everyone! If you'd like a GW Preventers 2009 Holiday card, please send me an note with your email address._**


	3. Dallying Llama

**Pet Project Series**

**Part 3**

**Dallying L**_**lama**_

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters. I make no monetary profit off this story.

Summary: Duo and friends deliver Quatre and Trowa a well-intended Christmas gift, the kind that keeps on giving. Series conclusion.

Warnings: AU, shounen-ai, rated for language and suggestiveness

_With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world._ -Dalai Lama

* * *

He gestured for Heero to continue backing the van up to the wire fence.

"That's it!" Duo shouted, and Heero cut the engine.

A week earlier, he and Heero had laid a gravel road, encircling the property for easy access, and also a gate between his and the Winner property. He'd mumbled something about "compliance with fire department right of entry" and Quatre hadn't batted an eye. Anything to smooth the path and official opening of Maxwell's Parish Orphanage before the Christmas holiday.

"This'll be great." Duo slid the lock off the gate.

Heero stared at him a moment then agreed tentatively. "I hope so."

Wufei and his boyfriend were there to participate, too. He and Zechs attached the rear ramp to the van. The tall man with the military bearing and sweep of platinum hair wiped off his hands using a monogrammed handkerchief. Duo could have sworn it was a rose and the initials "TK". Zechs was staring at him as he folded the cloth and pocketed it. "We are ready for mission 'egress'."

"Isn't that a kind of long-legged bird?" Duo asked, hiding a smile.

"That is an e-gret… Oh, of course, you are teasing." The dignified man forced a crooked smile.

Heero drew on heavy-duty gloves and then he and Heero jumped up onto the ramp and opened the van double doors to reveal two fluffy, furry rear ends standing four feet off the ground on equally shaggy legs.

Heero snapped the leads on the matching head harnesses, while Duo patted their necks to reassure the two animals. "Let's go, babes."

"Duo, you didn't choose them for their appearance, did you?" Zechs made no effort to mask his sarcasm.

"Ha, ha!"

"These particular llamas were chosen for their coloration, intending for them to emulate their masters," Heero said, unsure who was kidding whom and wanting the point made clear.

Duo led the slightly smaller llama with the huge eyes and ivory-colored fur backwards down the ramp to the ground. The other llama turned and followed on his own, Heero needing only to hold the leash out from underfoot.

He gave the shaggy caramel-colored back a pat and asked, "Should we part his bangs to one side, or would that be too obvious?"

"Sure, go ahead," Heero agreed.

As Duo gave the animal a "Trowa" hairdo touch up, he filled in a few more facts. "These two are brothers and just the right age for pets, and gelded." All Duo's helpers winced. "I didn't do it, geez."

"I hope you haven't overstepped the boundaries of friendship imposing these animals on Winner and Barton," Wufei's lips curled giving his smile a sinister look, looking as if he knew no such boundaries himself.

"Not that they don't deserve it for all the creatures they've hoisted on us over the years," Duo said. "It's all justifiable. And it might help, you know."

Wufei lost his smile and glared at Duo. "Perhaps, but, still, these are large and they live for years."

Heero moved his face out of his llama's "kiss" range. "15 to 20 years." The long tongue missed his nose fractionally.

"Hey, they deserve llamas," Duo insisted. "They stuck us with life-long companions—"

"**What?**"

"Aw, 'Ro, I didn't mean _you_. The pets! The cats and dogs!"

"Those animals needed good homes," Wufei insisted.

"Certainly, darling, but there must be more than two proper homes in all of Sanc." Zechs ran a gloved hand briskly across his lover's arm. "Don't you agree?"

Wufei clicked his tongue.

"You got off easy." Heero removed his gloves and started ticking off his current household on his fingers. "Not only do we house fifteen unruly kids, he feeds hundreds of cats—"

"Five," Duo corrected as he tied the leashes to the fence.

"—five that Trowa dumped on us, and more that you seem to collect like lint."

"Birds?" Zechs asked, his eyebrow arched, showing undue interest in the answer.

"No, no birds or dogs. Just cats and, strangely, terrarium creatures." Heero met Zechs' questioning gaze. "Lizards and snakes and one tortoise."

"Our kids love them!"

Heero let out a sigh carrying great weight. "That doesn't mean we should have them _all_, Duo."

"You don't," Wufei assured him. "We get the dogs and birds. I put my foot down at vermin."

Zechs smiled down at his lover. "Really? Which foot?"

"Both! Trowa actually tried to tell me a ferret was like a dog. He must think me a dolt."

"No, love, just soft-hearted."

"I'm most definitely not going soft!"

Duo sputtered back a laugh just imagining Wufei going all schmaltzy over animals.

"No? In that case, dearest, I'm ridding us of the conures." He met Heero's eyes, searching them for mutual understanding. "Two pairs, mind you. Two noisy pairs. I'm setting them free next spring. I understand they can naturalize in Sanc, so _everyone_ can enjoy them."

"I've never heard of them going wild and surviving. I'm looking that up when I get home," Wufei muttered.

Zechs' smug expression gave the impression that he had an abundance of plans to keep Mr. Chang adequately distracted on their return home. There would be no time for bird internet research.

"Here they come," Heero pointed out.

Duo waved at the oncoming pair, bundled in matching parkas and gloves. "Aw, ain't they cute?"

Trowa unwrapped the arm encircling his lover's shoulders and jangled a ring of keys. "There's two too many visitors. Maybe we ought to keep the gate locked?"

But he was too late. Quatre had already spotted the pretty llamas and was fanning the padlock with a hand. "Oh! They are adorable, don't you think so? Hurry and open up, Trowa!"

The lone green eye stared down Heero. "What's up?"

"They're guard llamas." Heero pushed away the caramel llama's head so it could face Trowa and stop trying to lick his hair.

"Guarding what?" Trowa made a big deal out of scanning the empty lot. "Oh, I get it. They'll chase you off our property?"

"No, no," Duo charged into the conversation. "They can guard the kids so they don't get crept up on by wolves or bears or something."

"There are no—" But Heero cut off Wufei's rejoinder with a sharp jab from a pointed elbow directed at his diaphragm. "—woofs!"

"If that's the case, then you and Heero should have them," Trowa maintained.

"I'm sure they are their newest additions to the homestead, right?" Quatre sounded hopeful.

"Naw, we got lots to take care of already. They're fer you. A gift!"

"Merry Christmas." Heero's flat delivery, however, sucked the cheer out of it.

"Ah, thanks?" Quatre kept up his polite pretense under most conditions, while Trowa muttered something about "having plenty to take care of himself". Quatre only barely restrained the whine from entering his voice. "But why two?"

"Two llamas can easily be kept on an acre of pasture, and there needs to be at least two 'cause they are herd animals and there's no other animals out here."

"Oh."

Trowa opened the gate, walked right up to the animals, and patted their heads. "Hello, fellas. We're going to have to protect the bark on the Sanc red oaks so you don't nibble and strip them to the bone and kill them all. Bet you eat your weight in food, dontcha? And you're not even fully grown yet."

"They get bigger?" If Quatre's eyes grew any larger they would have encompassed his face.

"A little," Duo hedged. He didn't really know.

"I'd imagine these two gents will grow to six feet tall and maybe 300 pounds," Trowa said. "Bigger than us."

"Um…" Quatre, who had been about to bury both hands in the plush fur, took a step back.

Duo had nothing to say to that, so he switched topics. "They eat mostly hay. Here's a booklet that tells about the care. Ah, it says… they cost next to nothing to feed. Look, see? Says here they make good companions 'cause they're undemanding and gentle."

Trowa took one of Quatre's hands, removed his gloves, and jammed the bare fingers into the thick fur, making him smile. "Soft."

Zechs chuckled into his hand. "If you collect the fur, I'm certain you can have a fiber artist spin and knit matching hats for the two of you."

Quatre sniffed the air as one of the llamas dropped a load of less desirable product. "Oh." Looking a bit despondent, he glanced up at Trowa. "How long do they live?"

"Glad you asked that!" Duo shouted out. "Once they establish this nice, close bond with you guys, you can count on them being 'round for 15 to 20 years."

Meanwhile, Heero gathered a sack from the truck. The two animals perked up, interested immediately. One hummed loudly and the other made a whinny-gurgle noise.

"What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing, Quat. 'Ro's just bringing over some treats. Let them give'em to their new pets, okay?"

"Sure. Here." Heero pushed the brown bag into Trowa's hands. For a minute, he had to fend off the two llamas, while stuffing an apple in Quat's hand. "Take that."

"Ack!"

"Look, I know why you got us these and I'm here to tell you we're fine," Trowa said. "We had a fight, a big one, I'll admit, but we patched things up. We don't need long-lived pets to keep us together."

Heero turned to glare at Duo, whose rosy cheeks pinked a deeper shade. "I told you."

"Duo, did you get these from Meg's LonePine Farm?" Trowa asked. It saved Duo from having to defend his logic.

"Yeah—"

"It's all right then," Trowa told his lover. "She's placing animals from the Noventa ranch."

"Oh," Quatre said, sadness marring his features.

"A terrible tragedy." Zechs shook his head. "I heard there weren't many animals that survived the fire."

The llamas cluckled and hummed and blew on Quatre's hair, begging for more snacks. When one started to pull a paper from his pocket, he pushed away the furry face and hopped backwards. "Not that!"

He handed over a sheaf of papers to Heero. "Here are the invitations to the Winner-Barton home Holiday Celebration."

Heero passed a pile to Duo and a pair to Wufei, keeping one for himself.

Duo flipped through the stack. "Wow! One for every kid? You guys are just… the best, you know?" Duo laughed and rubbed his hands together.

Trowa snorted and chuckled at the same time. "Right. Okay, well I'm taking Heckle and Jeckle here to the barn before they drag something more out of that trailer. Quat? Wanna grab that bag of chow?"

"Heckle and Jeckle?" Quatre scrunched up his face as if he smelled something awful, and he might have. "No, no… I don't like those names."

The group broke apart, going their own ways, leaving the new llama owners to the naming of their new charges.

(o)

_A few weeks later, the day of the Holiday Party…_

"But it snowed!" chimed several small voices.

"Rowy, 'ow're we gonna get to Catty's?" whined a tiny voice close by.

Heero gritted his teeth, biting back a sharp remark about the nickname, but then recalled that little Janice had a difficult time with her speech, particularly her "H's'. He held up his buzzing cell phone. "Shut up for a minute—all of you- and get dressed like Duo told you. Warm. Use the gifts we got you."

Fleece hats, scarves, mittens, down coats, insulated boots were donned in a confusion of colors and cacophony of noise.

And then came the sound of ringing bells.

'Eeeeeeeeeeeee! What's that?" so many voices cried out.

"Go to the back door and line up," he ordered them, not unkindly.

Duo clamored down the stairs carrying Benny, who always waited until the last minute before visiting the bathroom. "Ready!"

Bells grew louder as a horse driven sleigh slid through the yard. "Whoa!" Trowa told the horses, reining them in to approach slowly.

"Sandrock! Heavyarms! Get back here!" Quatre shouted at the two fluffy llamas, who ignored him.

The two wayward animals actually sped up and trotted past the rented horses to greet the children, Duo, and Heero at the back door.

It took four trips to transport all fifteen orphans plus Duo and Heero to the party at the Winner Barton house.

Theirs was an ancient country cottage perched on the hill, half hid by pines on approach, Built with timber-framing, painted black, and with toasted brown stucco and low hung eaves, Quatre called it his gingerbread house.

Indeed, with its winter decorations, it was that. Tall red and white candy canes edged the walk leading to the front doors, and more stripes framed the door; the windows shone in hard candy colors; long rich looking vanilla frosting dripped from the eaves. Glistening gumdrops dotted the outside walls and the shutters were lavished with frosting and licorice twists. The giant wreaths centered on each of the doors turned out to be created from real fruit-flavored candies wrapped in green tinted cellophane.

The doors swung open and the children squealed at the sight of the huge Christmas tree sparkling with lights and colorful ornaments, some handmade by them. Several of the children raced over to look for the ornaments they had handcrafted and point them out. Other children jostled for a spot near the fireplace to warm their hands by the roaring fire and pick out their names on the stockings arrayed across the hearth.

Duo's eyes roved about looking for the source of the good smells. "Amazing, Quat. When do we eat?"

Roasted meats and vegetables, warm spicy ginger bread, and wine simmered pears all contributed a trace to the rich aroma blend.

"Fifteen minutes!"

Only Heero actually checked his watch and set a timer.

Duo greeted Wufei and Zechs with a mock salute and grin. "Brought both kids, I see."

"Both—?" Wufei's eyes narrowed with understanding and his grip around the tiny dog in his arms tightened enough to cause the animal to whine and lick his hands. "Greta is very small and requires a sweater in cold weather. Ask Barton if you don't believe me!"

Zechs set down a wriggling little human girl. "All right, Meiran, now that everyone is here you can go play."

_He and his partner had been unable to resist the darling smile and flashing eyes of the little girl when Duo had introduced them, and so they had adopted her immediately. That they'd been married only a week hadn't mattered at all._

_"Life is short," Duo had told them that memorable day. "Don't think too hard about things or you'll out smart yourselves."_

_Duo certainly knew all about that. Had he considered all the problems and difficulties he and Heero would have to overcome to get the orphanage going, they might not have gotten started._

_"She has your eyes," Zechs had told Wufei. _

_"She's Chinese; at least, in part, so it's no surprise." But Wufei had been charmed._

_Every week at least - they had promised—she would have a play date with the other children._

And they'd kept that promise for each of the two weeks she'd lived with them; however, this was the first visit with the dachshund.

"May I show them Gretel?" she asked very politely.

Wufei wasn't so sure he wanted the tiny dachshund out of his arms and possibly trod upon underfoot. "I'll hold her and you do the introductions."

Not the perfect solution, but acceptable for the little girl, and she and her two fathers made the rounds, Zechs unable to let either his partner or his new daughter out of his sight.

Trowa returned from caring for the horses and llamas, washing his hands and removing his boots by the back entrance before joining the merry gathering. The rental agency would be by later to collect the horse-drawn sleigh and horses; Trowa had another means to whisk everyone home. He'd originally rented the sled to give Quatre rides around the property (not all with the horses pulling the sleigh either), but he'd loved it so much that he'd added a few more hours to the rental and shared it with his neighbors. And from the look on the orphans' faces it had been worth every penny.

After the little dachshund had given a lick to all the children's faces, Quatre rounded up the children for their dinner. Since this would prove to be noisy and brief, the men all stood around and snacked, waiting on Holly who needed more juice, having split hers already; serving more of the stuffing to John, another ham slice to Bobby; helping cut up a portion into tiny bite-sized pieces for Jamie.

While the adults sipped mugs of soup and dipped in thick bread slices, the children played board games. A few girls drew pictures and under their watchful eyes let a couple boys pose in "Santa hats" or holding one of the resident ferrets, which looked an awful lot like Gretel.

Dessert was peppermint ice cream. Quatre scooped bright the thick, white cream shot through with red swirls into bowl and lay out platters of freshly baked cookies, some that the children had decorated the day before. Decorating gingerbread men and tree-shaped sugar cookies had been a blast, messy and noisy. Duo was glad they'd hired a cleanup crew to clean the kitchen before Heero got home, tired from work.

The children were more excited about the promise of presents to open than eating, now that their hunger was satisfied, and so most of the cookies would be boxed and sent home for them to enjoy the next day.

"Okay everyone," Quatre called out his clear voice rising above the excited chatter. "In order to distribute the presents, you must all gather about and sit quietly. I'll call your name and your gifts will be passed to you. Understand?"

Yes. Get on with it already. Duo chuckled as he watched Quatre direct each child into their proper seats with prim patience. He wondered how much longer he and Trowa would be able to hold out before wanting to adopt a child of their own?

"Will! Holly…"

As Quatre distributed the lavishly wrapped presents, Trowa handed the adults foaming mugs of eggnog with a wink. "Take it easy. I was a little heavy-handed with the rum."

"Thank God," Zechs muttered with a grateful smile.

Duo couldn't really see this being the great Lightening Count's sort of party and thought Trowa was doing a good job propping him up. And if he thought about it, Trowa seemed to be ducking out a lot to make drinks or whatever. Maybe he wasn't as keen on kids as pets?

Trowa waited until Quatre finished passing out the presents and the children were busy tearing apart the packaging to offer a cup of nog to his lover. "Want to do the toast?"

Quatre shook his head. "You start."

"All right. Well-," he shook his head with a faint blush.

"To friends, good friends," Wufei cut in to save him more grief.

"The best," Heero embellished further.

"And from Shakespeare," Zechs said, "'May heaven send you many, many happy days.'"

"How about a toast to our happy, animal-filled lives?" Trowa offered more confidently now.

"You guys are so lame," Duo said, laughing. "Here's a real toast: If you can't be merry at Christmas, then you can drive the rest of us home when we are!"

"Oh, Duo, with the kids here?" Quatre lamented, holding back a smile with trouble, Duo could tell. "You must remember Tiny Tim's toast from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens**: '**Here's to us all! God bless us every one!'"

"Oh!" Wufei gulped most his drink and jammed the mug and little Gretel into his lover's hands. "Meiran looks like she's fallen asleep."

"She's not the only one." Heero announced that it was "time to go home" amid moans and complaints of "already?"

"Yes." Duo agreed. The older kids could play a little longer in their own home, but the youngest were fading fast.

"Gather what you can," Trowa told him. "Yuy and I will take them home and I'll bring over everything that's left behind tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Fine."

On the way out, Quatre tucked a stuffed stocking into each child's hands, wished them a "Merry Christmas", and let Heero and Trowa take turns sledding them home using the new speedy Polaris snow mobiles.

Duo joined them on the second trip, and stayed to get the snow gear put away and muster the troops. It had been the best Christmas he'd ever had, and only needed lights out, a warm bed, and his lover to tie the bow on the most perfect day ever.

Or maybe he'd tie Heero to the iron bed rails, adding a festive bow?

He looked forward to peeling off Heero's clothes and testing out the generous caramel flavored lube gift from Quatre and Trowa, and wondered what it was that Heero'd been hiding in that old gun case. "Hope he likes the gold chain I got him." But he knew he would. Heero loved everything given to them.

"Okay cats, all of you off the bed!" Well, almost everything.

The End.

**A/N: **Merry Christmas to everyone… and to those of us who just finished celebrating Chanukah, I hope it was wonderful, too! - KS


End file.
